FREDERICTON (GNB) – The theme for Heritage Week 2015 will be Hope
Restored in recognition of the 50th anniversary of Canada’s national flag,
as well as the 50th anniversary of New Brunswick’s provincial flag.Hope Restored is the English translation of New Brunswick’s motto,
Spem Reduxit.

New Brunswickers are encouraged to reflect upon the stories that have shaped
the province and its collective heritage during Heritage Week 2015, Feb. 9 –
16.

The provincial flag was designed by Robert Pichette and Lt.-Cmdr. Alan J.
Beddoe and adopted by proclamation on Feb. 24, 1965. The symbols depicted on the
flag are taken from the Coat of Arms assigned by Royal Warrant of Queen Victoria
on May 26, 1868.

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

FREDERICTON (GNB) – Two New Brunswick students have been selected by Canada’s
National History Society to attend the National Youth History Forum taking place
in Ottawa from Oct. 30 to Nov. 2.They were selected from among a national group of competitors who each
developed a short video documentary for the Young Citizens program following
their participation in their school districts’ Regional Heritage Fairs. They
are:

“New Brunswick is home to a multitude of stories that contribute to our
provincial identity,” said Tourism, Heritage and Culture Minister Bill Fraser.
“These stories deserve to be told and our youth can play a tremendous role in
sharing them with New Brunswickers and other Canadians. I congratulate these two
students on their achievement, which is a reflection of the commitment they have
shown to preserving our shared past.”

The dates for Heritage Week 2015 in New
Brunswick are February 9 -16; which also includes Black History month, National
Flag of Canada Day (February 15) and National Heritage Day (February 16).

The goal for Heritage Week is to provide New Brunswickers with opportunities to
celebrate their past at local levels. This year, in recognition of our national
and provincial flags, all interested community organizations,
individuals, schools, museums, libraries, archives, seniors centres, and
historic sites, are invited to reflect upon these two important symbols in our
collective past. Now is the time to begin planning for Heritage Week 2015!

To assist with these activities, Heritage Week 2015 promotion kits will be
available mid-December. Individuals and groups wishing to order a kit may
contact Heritage Branch, in the Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture, by
telephone, 506-453-2324, or by e-mail, heritage.week@gnb.ca.

More information will also be available
(very soon) on the Heritage Week 2015 web site.

New Brunswick Heritage Fairs 2015:

As in past years, a Regional Heritage Fair will be taking place within your school district
during late April-May.

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

It’s September already! As you head back to your
classrooms, be sure to check out the Great Unsolved Mysteries in Canadian
History (GUMICH) project, based at the University of Victoria.
Welcome to the latest edition of the new GUMICH Gazette, a thrice-yearly
newsletter to help keep educators up to date on news and tips for teaching with
historical mysteries.

Joan Pearce can hardly believe she’s extolling the
virtues of a video game. But the 74-year-old retired teacher has seen how Minecraft has piqued
the interest of young people in rocks, minerals and the environment around
them.

Although she’s been retired for 20 years, she’s been visiting classrooms
again lately as the head of Stonehammer Geopark’s education committee.The committee’s goal is to educate students about Stonehammer by
incorporating local material into the established curriculum. Last year, Stonehammer officials reached 800 students in 17 schools and they’re hoping to
reach even more this year.

Pearce said she was often surprised at how much students knew about
geology.“When I asked the students a question about geology, I wasn’t really
expecting anybody to have the answer, but someone usually did and I’d say ‘Oh,
how do you know that?’” The answer was always the same – they knew it from playing Minecraft.

Minecraft is a video game that allows players to gather and mine
resources and use those items to craft tools and other things necessary for
survival. Along the way, players learn about soil, rocks, minerals and ore.

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

The Little Red School House along the Saint John
waterfront has been sitting in the same location for years. The building,
painted red with white accents, stands unnoticed by many in the city. People
walk past it on their way to the boardwalk, or aim a passing glance in its
direction while standing in line for Beavertails.

But the Little Red School House is an important part of Saint John’s
history.The building was constructed in the 1870s in Pleasant Villa, near
Gagetown. It has had many uses over the years, but it was originally used as a
small school.

Local historian Harold Wright said the building was given to the city to
operate as a museum decades ago.

“It was a gift, or at least a long-term loan, from the New Brunswick
Society of Retired Teachers to operate as a schoolhouse museum,” said Wright.

The discovery of one of Franklin’s lost ships has big implications for Canada’s efforts to establish its sovereignty over the Northwest Passage.

By Ken McGoogan

What does it mean? Why does it matter? Couldn’t that search money have been better spent in some other fashion? These are some of the questions turning up as a result of the discovery of one of the long-lost Franklin ships.

Those two vessels, the Erebus and the Terror, disappeared into the Arctic in 1845, under the captaincy of Sir John Franklin, never to be seen again. The search for Franklin and his missing ships, most intensive in the 1850s, opened up the complex archipelago that is the Canadian Arctic.

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

The Virtual Museum of Canada is Moving Soon

As it was announced in the Economic Action Plan 2014, the Canadian Museum of History will soon be responsible for the Virtual Museum of Canada (VMC). The official transfer is scheduled to proceed on September 30, 2014.

While cultural institutions continue to develop an array of digital content and
products, they often do so without giving enough consideration to the ongoing
efforts and resources required to ensure their long-term viability.

Choosing
the Right Social Media for Your Institution

In this ongoing series, CHIN examines the different ways museums can promote
their activities online. This month, we look at microblogs and their use in the
heritage sector.

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

“160 Years of Baseball in New Brunswick” documents the sport’s exciting history
since the first recorded game was played in Chatham in 1853. Displays feature
artefacts from some of the province’s most outstanding players, coaches,
officials and teams from the late 1800s to today.

“The World of Parallel Sport” tells the story of
New Brunswick’s trailblazing wheelchair athletes and coaches whose successes at
the international level helped build parallel sport in the province and Canada.
Artefacts from the museum’s collection and modern adaptive equipment from Para
NB’s Equipment Loan Service show the evolution of parallel sport since the end
of the Second World War.

Lest We
Forget Project: Cenotaph Research Updates:Welcome to the Lest We Forget Project. We have recently added 200 digitized military personnel records to the
website. These records represent 100 men and women who served our country in the
First World War, and 100 in the Second World War. We gratefully acknowledge Ancestry.ca (www.ancestry.ca) who made this
work possible.Although the site features a new design and layout, the content of the "Notes for Teachers" and the "Student Guidelines" has not changed. Additional information has been added to the "Galleries" and "Further Research" sections.

SAINT JOHN (GNB) – The provincial government is investing $1.1 million
in the development of a plan to improve the conditions of the New Brunswick
Museum Collections Centre.

The centre houses many collections owned by the province and managed by
the New Brunswick Museum. It is also the site of research, preservation
activities, laboratories and a workspace for staff and volunteers.

The centre has been deteriorating due to issues with heating,
ventilation, water leaks and overcrowding, among others. Left unaddressed, the
continued deterioration could place collections, staff, volunteers and the
public at risk.

“The New Brunswick Museum conserves our heritage assets and shares many
of them with the world, contributing to how we explain and showcase who we are
as New Brunswickers,” said Tourism, Heritage and Culture Minister Trevor
Holder. “Our continued investment in the New Brunswick Museum underscores our
pride in our collective heritage and our commitment to ensuring it is preserved
for future generations.”

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Ashes
and Rebirth: St. Mary's Ferry/North Devon

Based
on the Community Memories exhibition, Bob McNeil will tell the story of St.
Mary's Ferry/North Devon. This community was first called St. Mary's
Ferry and in 1917, it became North Devon. Finally, in 1945 it became part
of Fredericton. Through photos and stories of the time, this exhibit
follows the beginnings of a community from 1831, through to its inclusion in
the greater city of Fredericton in the mid-20th century.

Join
us at Government House, Thursday February 20 @ 7:30 PM when curator Bob McNeil
will tell us more about this community.

A
reception will follow the presentation. Non-members are cordially
invited.